Freight container



B. F. FITCH Magi 2, -1939.

FREIGHT CONTAINER Original Filed`June 29, 1956 M INVENTOR, BYvI/gamm @g2/5i @2y/m ArITORNEYw.

Patented May 2, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE FREIGHT CONTAINER s, Benjamin F. Fitch, Greenwich, Conn. original appiication'iune 29, 1936, serial '.No.

Divided and this application "March s1, 1937, serial-No. 134,018 s s claims. (ci. 28o- 12) This invention relates to a demountable container which may be mounted'interchangeably on highway trucks or railway cars and thus transport the contained freight from source to desiii tination. The present invention is a division of my copending application for Letters Patent, Se-

rial No. 87,973, filed June 29, 1936. The present' invention is particularly concernedwith the provision of a container which may be readily slid 'f between the car and adjacent truck or platform.

The container with which this invention is particularly concerned, is one especially'adapted for use in the freight-transporting system, described and claimed in my copending application, heretofore referred to. In such a system the railway cars are preferably provided with upwardly facing channels arranged in pairs, preferably extending transversely of the car, and thev truck is provided with correspondingly spacedbhannel shaped guideways preferably extending lengthwise thereof and in registration, as nearly as practicable, with those of the car during transfer of the container. y

A feature of my present invention relates to the provision of such skid rails on the container to enable it to slide readily, and also to reduce the adherence-of the body to the car in case of freezing during inclement weather. This provision prevents a strain on the operating motor and mechanism, which moves. the containers especially during the breaking of the containers loose from the car incase of such freezing.v

Another feature of my invention is the provision of a container skidrail which may be V4economically manufactured and aiiixed to the container, and which skid rails will be comparatively light rin weight and at the sanieY time be capable of withstanding comparatively rough usage as, for instance, the sliding of the conf tainer between a railway car and truck, the channel guideways of which do not strictly align one with the other.

Further features and objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the folylowing description, which refers to preferred forms of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing. The novel and essential feae tures of the invention are summarized `in the claims.

Inthe drawing, Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan of a railway flat car or platform equipped with my transverse guide channels and illustrates` a container equipped with the skid Arails of the present invention as being slid thereon; Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing a container mounted on the car; Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the car channel and body skid rail, as indicated by the line 3 3 on Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan of therail removed (indicated by the line 4-4 on Fig. 3) Fig, 5 is an end view of the skid rail and coacting guide channel; Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section on the line 6-6 on Fig. 3.V

In Figs. 1 and 2, A indicates the railway flat car and B a demountable freight container mounted thereon, which is also suitable for mounting `on highway truck. Extending crosswiseof the car are pairs of parallel channels I0, which areA adapted to receive skid rails on the underside of the bodies B. 'I'he highway truck (not shown) is also equipped with a pair of parallel channels which correspond in construetion and spacing to any pair of channels on thecar. For a more complete description of these channels reference may be had to my copending application, heretofore referred to. In use, the truck is placed with its channels approximately registering with channels ID of the railway truck. The truck is then coupled to the railway car by means of suitable bridges, not shown, but which take the form of those described and claimed in my copending application for Letters Patent, Se-

vtot'ransfer the containers between a truck and a railway car kor shippers platform, or vise versa.

Each skid rail is made {up'of an intermediate member and two shoes 26 located at its opposite ends. The intermediate member is hollow,

and preferably U-shap'ed in cross-section as indicated at Fig. 6.. These U-shaped rails are outwardly flanged at their tops as shown at 2l, and these iianges are riveted or otherwise secured to the container body B. As shown, the flanges 2| are riveted to flanges bi of suitable body bracing members through an intermediate plate hl.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the intermediate portion of the skid rail is shorter than the width of the body B, while the shoes at the ends of such intermediate portion project slightly beyond the body. This shoe 26 is a hollow member substantially U-shaped in cross-section and is preferably a steel casting. This casting is of the hollow form shown; has an extension portion or U- shaped neck 2l, sufficiently reduced to snugly occupy the channel 20 `to which it is secured, as, for instance, by Welding. Each shoe 26 also has flanges 28, which are secured to the container.

'Ihe end of each shoe is oppositely tapered, as at 29, and upwardly rounded on the under side, as at 23.

Beyond the channel 2l) the shoe 26 has its under surface depressed with the result that the skid rail effectively supports the body by engaging the car or truck support only near the opposite ends of the skid rail.

The under surface 30 of the skid rail shoe just described is ground smoothly, so it may readily slide on the support. The shoe preferably rides on a liner I2, mounted on the Webs Il of the channel lll. The engaging surface of smoothly ground steel readily slides on the liner surface.

The extension shoes described operate also to keep the center of the body rails out of contact with the car channels, thus materially reducing the extent of surface which could make a frozen contact in the Winter time. Suitable drain holes lll are provided through the base of the channels and through the corresponding oor plate of the Acar to prevent accumulation of liquid in the channel. The result is that the surface which has to be broken loose, in case the body has. been standing in the channels in freezing weather, is restricted to the comparatively small area between the engageable surface on the skid rail and the liner i2.

The guide channels are provided with isolated pairs of bosses l5 to co-act with the sides of the skid rail, instead of continuous engagement of channel flanges with the'rails reducesthe friction of the sides of the skid rail, as well as the degree of adherence from freezing, and to facilitate the transfer of the container between nonaligning guideways. These bosses are more fully described and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 87,973, heretofore referred to.

V4The tapered ends 29 of the skid shoes serve to guide the body rail into positionV between the bosses when the body is moved horizontally to or from the railway car.

I claim: f

. 1. A container having on its underside a pair of skid rails, eachrail having an intermediate portion of upwardly Vfacing channel shape and a pair of end extensions having reduced parts occupying' the channel of the intermediate portion and secured thereto.

2. A containerhaving on its underside a pair of skid rails, each rail having an intermediate portion U-shaped in cross-section and having end extensions in the form of shoes, each shoe having a' reduced neck extending into the channel of the intermediate portion and having beyond the neck flat portion smooth on its underside and lower than the intermediateV portion of the skid rail, the top of the shoe having flanges for attachment to the body and the end of the shoe being curved upwardly and tapered on itsv sides.

3. A container having on its underside a pair of parallel skid rails, each rail having an intermediate portion U-shaped in cross-section and having end extensions in the form of shoes, each shoe being generally U-shaped in cross-section, the side wall surfaces thereof forming continuations of side wall surfaces of the intermediate portion of the rail, the bottom surface of each shoe depending below the bottom surface of the intermediate portion of the rail, each shoe having a reduced portion adapted and arranged to project into the intermediate portion of the rail and be secured thereto, and wherein the outer ends of each shoe is curved upwardly to a point substantially above the bottom surface of the intermediate portion of the rail.

4. A container having on its underside a pair of' parallel skid rails, each rail being U-shaped in cross-section, each leg of the U having adjacent its upper end outwardly extending flanges for attachment of the rail to the container, shoes secured to the opposite ends of each rail, each rail having an intermediate bottom surface higher than the adjacent bottom surfaces of the shoes, the outer end of each shoe converging inwardly and its bottom extending upwardly to facilitate entrance of the railinto a guideway.

5. A container having on its underside a pair of parallel skid rails, each raii composed of an intermediate hollow portion and a pair of extension shoes having necks extending into the intermediate portion and having bodies depending below the intermediate portion.

' 6. A container having on its under side a pair of skid rails, each railcarrying at its end a shoe having its bottom lower than the bottom of the rail between the shoes, the shoe and rail being secured together and one of them extending into the other.

7. A container having on its under side a pair of skid rails composed of an intermediate portion and a pair of end shoes, each shoe being a hollow casting with a bottom portion lower than the intermediate portion, substantially upright side walls, the top portion engaging the under side of the'container structure, and the shoe having at its inner end a projection extending into the intermediate portion.

8. A container having on its under side a pair of parallel skid rails, each rail composed of an intermediate portion of sheet metal bent into a U-shape and a pair of cast steel end shoes adapted to sustain the container and providing a rubbing surface on the support, said end shoes at their tops jbeing operatively connected to the bottom ofthe container and at their inner ends connected to said intermediate portion.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH. 

